“Gone are the days when only the bride is expected to stand out at the wedding. Today’s groom not only wants to complement his spouse, but also wants to make a statement. The groom is taking his fashion decisions himself,” says menswear designer Kunal Rawal, who has styled the likes of Shahid Kapoor, Sidharth Malhotra and Ranbir Kapoor. The groom’s attire is as much a show stealer as his bride’s and modern grooms are learning to have fun with their looks this season.

“That’s what fashion is about — having fun with your clothes, wearing your personality, not being scared because it is not for someone else it is for yourself,” he says.

His range consists of kurtas that fit like jackets (Jacket Kurtas), an Indian three piece set (kurta-jacket-sherwani), high low kurtas and longline bundis.

Talking about his collection, Rawal said: “Basically it’s a collection which is modern Indian. It is very contemporary Indian — that’s how I like it. I feel like me, even my customer, is looking for luxury and key pieces. Hence, I have made my looks with separates. He feels menswear is at a promising stage in India.

“There is so much cross-cultural inspiration and all the clothes are very modern and have touches of global fashion… That has made men more fashion conscious and aware,” he said.

He says that Indian men today have evolved in terms of their fashion quotient.

“They have become wiser and bolder. They are far more involved in what they wear compared to taking help from others,” he said.

But what about menswear fashion week in the country?

“I think something like this is very market driven. The menswear market has grown tremendously and has proved itself in numbers,” he said.

The designer thinks menswear in India is going to be far more structured gradually.

“The market, customer, requirement and wants have changed… For a very long time, you had designers using women’s wear fabric on menswear clothing and doing few menswear looks in their collection. But even women’s wear designers having menswear — that itself shows you how the menswear market has grown,” he added.

Here are some of the best looks for men from India and the GTA- both for formal occasions and their wedding day. For a complete listing of the top fashion boutiques in the GTA go to our Fashion DIRECTORY